Michael Gambon, the Irish actor who played Dumbledore in the Harry Potter films, has died at 82.
    • dangblingus@lemmy.world
      751·
      1 year ago

      Proof Joanne sucks at writing. Why would Dumbledore ask that question calmly given the circumstances?

      • nova_ad_vitum@lemmy.ca
        78·
        1 year ago

        Because book Dumbledore is a calm person who is able to control his emotions and he realizes that shouting isn’t going to solve anything?

          • zaph@sh.itjust.works
            8·
            1 year ago

            Dumbledore is a decent mind reader iirc but Snape was the OG. He didn’t need to read Harry’s mind, he cast the spells on the cup and knew Harry wouldn’t have been able to get his name in there and that someone else had to do it.

            • bitsplease@lemmy.ml
              8·
              1 year ago

              As I recall (it’s been a while) you have that backwards, Snape was the OG at blocking mind reading, but only reasonably proficient at doing it himself, whereas Dumbledore was able to weedle memories out of people that they didn’t even know they had

      • bitsplease@lemmy.ml
        39·
        1 year ago

        It’s literally a core facet of dumbledores character that he’s always genial and calm, even in the face of total disaster. It’s part of what made him an intimidating wizard.

        Even besides that though, why wouldn’t he ask calmly? One of two things are true

        1. Harry did put his name in the goblet and is lying about it, in which case going full on “DIDYOUPUTYOURNAMEINTHEGOBLETOFFIRE!?!?” is only likely to put Harry on the defensive and make him less likely to own up.

        2. Harry didnt put his name in the goblet and is being setup by voldy or his buddies. In which case Harry is a victim and should be handled as such. At this point Dumbledore had very good reasons to think this was the more likely of the two.

        Dont get me wrong, if you wanna talk about JKRs shitty writing, I’ll happily join you, but this is actually an example of good writing on her part, given that the character in question is supposed to be the smartest wizard alive, it makes perfect sense that he’d react rationally instead of lashing out emotionally

        • assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world
          2·
          1 year ago

          Harry’s reaction alone is probably enough for Dumbledore to know something’s wrong, and asking Harry is just confirmation. Like you said, no reason to be aggressive to him.

          I think Dumbledore overall is a brilliantly written character. His calmness portrays a deep wisdom and vast knowledge. The only time we’ve ever seen him outright angry is when Umbridge began to manhandle the student who sold out Dumbledore’s Army. He instantly touched upon a fury that made Umbridge and the Ministry realize they needed to calm down.

          He really hasn’t expressed anger otherwise. He was calm facing off against Voldemort in Book 5. He was disappointed in the Dursleys for abusing Harry. He was apologetic when Harry lost control while grieving for Sirius.

          • bitsplease@lemmy.ml
            2·
            1 year ago

            I agree, I think it’s likely that he only asked for the benefit of the others in the room

      • Goblin_Mode@ttrpg.network
        271·
        1 year ago

        I mean imo JKR is a bad author for about a dozen reasons but that line in particular is not me of them.

        Tbh the entire plot hinging on the idea that it is unthinkable to every single person in the Wizarding world that someone would prank the most famous kid in school by putting his name in the cup without his knowledge is a way worse writing decision. Given that’s exactly what happens though Dumbledore acting calmly and implying he knows Harry didn’t actually do it is the most reasonable thing to come out of that book.

        • zalgotext@sh.itjust.works
          2·
          1 year ago

          Yeah JKR is just immensely bad at world building and macro level details - how, in the hundreds or however many years the Triwizard Tournament has been going on, has no one thought to enter someone else’s name? Why didn’t any of the spells on the cup detect that sort of fraudulent entry, but it could detect magic that physically ages a person? Those kinds of logical holes and inconsistencies are everywhere in her writing. The thing she usually gets right though are the micro details - she’s decently good at character building, character interaction, and keeping characters true to their… Well, character, throughout the books.

      • GratefullyGodless@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        1 year ago

        Don’t blame her or Gambon either. The director is the one who would be responsible for that scene. He’s the one who decided that Dumbledore should freak the fuck out. Don’t let him off the hook just because of your personal biases against Rowling.

  • instamat@lemmy.worldEnglish
    311·
    1 year ago

    This is the second actor that’s died after playing dumbledore. The only conclusion is the part is cursed.

  • axellenium@lemmy.worldEnglish
    28·
    1 year ago

    I also fondly remember his performance in Toys (1992) with Robin Williams. Such a great actor, RIP General Zevo

    • Ech@lemm.eeEnglish
      5·
      1 year ago

      Smith seriously had the best specials, and A Christmas Carol is so great. Gambon did a fantastic job in the episode.

    • CitizenKong@lemmy.world
      61·
      1 year ago

      And he was so much better there than in Harry Potter too. Either he didn’t like that role or he got bad direction.

  • Margot Robbie@lemmy.world
    172·
    1 year ago

    Rest in peace.

    Growing up, I loved the Harry Potter movies. I really, really did.

    But part of growing older is realizing that I didn’t like Harry Potter as much as I use to.

    All good things will unfortunately come to an end one day, but there’s not a set ending to our stories yet.

    We should make the best of the time we have here.

    • Underwaterbob@lemm.eeEnglish
      18·
      1 year ago

      The Potterverse (shoot me) suffers from the same problem as Star Wars: an overzealous creator who, as it turns out, probably just got lucky the first time around and is doing their best to sully any good memories people may have of the franchise.

    • gregorum@lemm.eeEnglish
      5·
      1 year ago

      I adore that film. It was the template for Downton Abbey, created by the writer of Gosford Park.

    • kaitco@lemmy.world
      4·
      1 year ago

      It’s strange that it’s not as well known given that it was Julian Fellowes’ proto-Downton Abbey. It’s one of my favorite movies of all time and it’s like a who’s-who of the best of British actors.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
      3·
      1 year ago

      It’s weird, I thought there were a ton of great performances in that movie, and yet I really didn’t like it at all. I’ve even watched it twice because I thought maybe I missed something the first time, but nope.

      He’s terrific in it though.

      • Tatters@lemmy.world
        3·
        1 year ago

        It goes against the usual, overly romanticised trope for Country House dramas, to be much more gritty and seedy. I like it. Lots of cameos too, a real ensemble piece.

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
    111·
    1 year ago

    I’m not a Harry Potter fan, but he was amazing in the BBC TV series “The Singing Detective,” later turned into a very disappointing Robert Downey, Jr. film.

    EDIT: Another great performance he gave was in the miniseries “Longitude,” about clockmaker John Harrison’s amazing contribution to the world.